Aerobic Isolates from Gestational and Non-Gestational Lactating Bitches (<i>Canis lupus familiaris</i>)
Iosif Vasiu,
Gabriele Meroni,
Roman Dąbrowski,
Piera Anna Martino,
Asta Tvarijonaviciute,
Mariola Bochniarz,
Raul Alexandru Pop,
Florinel Gheorghe Brudaşcă,
Nicodim Iosif Fiţ
Affiliations
Iosif Vasiu
Department and Clinic of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Gabriele Meroni
One Health Unit, Department of Biomedical Surgical and Dental Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Roman Dąbrowski
Department and Clinic of Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, 20-612 Lublin, Poland
Piera Anna Martino
One Health Unit, Department of Biomedical Surgical and Dental Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Asta Tvarijonaviciute
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis, Interlab-UMU, Regional Campus of International Excellence “Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Mariola Bochniarz
Department and Clinic of Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, 20-612 Lublin, Poland
Raul Alexandru Pop
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Florinel Gheorghe Brudaşcă
Department and Clinic of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Nicodim Iosif Fiţ
Department of Microbiology, Mycology, and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Mastitis is a complex and well-defined mammary gland pathology, and an emergency in bitches. In dogs, its prevalence is about 1% of all reported diseases and about 5.3% of all reproductive pathologies. Lactating bitches are naturally prone to developing mastitis since puppies can easily overstimulate the epidermal layer of nipples during feeding, facilitating bacterial colonization of the glands. This study aimed to describe the aerobic bacterial flora isolated from milk samples derived from a cohort of patients (n = 87) diagnosed with clinical mastitis (n = 29), subclinical mastitis (n = 17) and healthy mammary glands (n = 46). All of the patients underwent a gynecology consultation to diagnose mammary gland afflictions; physical examination results were coupled with traditional hematological findings. The milk samples were plated on specific microbiological media for bacterial isolation. Among the 162 milk samples analyzed, 93.2% (151/162) had a positive microbiological result, while 6.8% (11/162) were sterile. The bacteriological profile of the milk samples showed 47 different species. The most common bacterial families detected in healthy bitches and bitches with subclinical and clinical mastitis were the Staphylococcaceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae families. The results indicated that half of the isolated bacteria are novel findings in dogs and that some of them are normal components of human milk.
